Op-Ed by Frank Spotorno
The United States of America now owes our creditors $35 Trillion dollars…and nobody cares. Has anyone given their children, or grandchildren’s welfare any thought?
When I ran for Congress in 2016, I said “Common Sense should tell us that we should not spend our children’s and grandchildren’s’ future by running budget deficits and a national debt approaching 20 trillion dollars. Congress can start by passing the Penny Plan, which cuts 1% of all spending across the board.”
In just 8 years our debt has risen from $20 Trillion to $35 Trillion. Yes, during COVID, we had to borrow, but two years later, and both our members of Congress refuse to make the difficult choices.
I also discussed The Penny Plan in 2016. There are other plans in Washington DC that will reduce our debts and deficits, but they require difficult choices and pain for the American people.
And our elected officials don’t want to tell us the truth about the difficult decisions we have to make because they fear their reelection.
Republicans want more tax cuts and Democrats want more spending.
We can’t afford the 8 million illegal immigrants that crossed the border and now live here.
We can’t afford to fund defense projects that we don’t need but because they are in a powerful member of Congress’ district, they are funded.
And most important, we can’t afford to sit by and do nothing.
If we can’t control our spending, our economy might eventually implode. Neither those vying for office nor those holding office are discussing this crucial subject. No longer is our spending out of control—it’s through the roof.
Nobody cares and in fact it has gotten worse:
Us National Debt:
2008 10 Trillion
2012 16 Trillion
2016 19.5 Trillion
2020 27 Trillion
2024 35 Trillion
In 2011 President Obama and then Speaker of the House John Boehner had a deal to cut spending, or at least control it, and reduce our deficits by $10 Trillion over 10 years.
That deal fell apart because conservative members of Congress refused to go along with the tax increases. Shame on them. But shame also on the democrats who keep wanting to pay for more spending by borrowing more.
And what happens when we borrow another Trillion? We have to print another Trillion in dollars. And when you pump more dollars into the system, the value of our dollar is less, and inflation rises. So, anyone who tells you that our debts don’t affect the poor or middle class, think again.
My Congressman, Jamaal Bowman, wanted to spend another $3 Trillion during COVID. If Bowman’s plan had passed, inflation would have been worse, and more people wouldn’t be able to pay for their gas, food and medicines.
When any family sits at the kitchen table and tries to figure out how to pay for their new car, or vacation, or a new roof, or college for their children, they have a decision to make. How can I make more money, and where can we cut our budget to make it happen?
That is what we need to do in Washington DC. But if you listen to President Biden or former President Trump in their debate, there was one question about the debt but no answers, just finger pointing at each other.
And the silence will continue, until what? China decides to cash in the Trillions in bonds that we owe them?
Both parties have buried their heads in the sand.
What about all of the baby boomers who are going to collect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Those three programs are not included in our debt.
Our federal government will soon have to pay $1 Tillion in interest alone on our debt. That means $1 Trillion less to pay for childcare; $1 Trillion less to build new roads and bridges; $1 Trillion less to build affordable housing.
And it will get worse until we do something. “The U.S. federal debt is on an unsustainable path, and has been for some time,” Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chairman
Somebody needs to stand up and have the political will, the Chutzpah, to do what is best for our country.
I like what Jim Martin recently wrote (www.denverpost.com/2024/07/09/us-national-debt-35-trillion-unsustainable)”Thomas Jefferson, who died deeply in personal debt, warned that “excessive debt is a means by which governments oppress the people. No nation has a right to create debt for periods longer than the majority of citizens contracting the debt can expect to live…We have kicked the can down the road long enough, putting our children in the difficult position of having to solve this catastrophic problem. For our children’s sake, let’s stop and pick up the can before our road ends, and they are left to clean up after our extravagant selfish party.”
Another thoughtful Op-Ed from Steve Brawner, (www.thedailycitizen.com/opinion/steve-brawner-another-day-older-and-35-trillion-in-debt/article) who writes, “What’s the number that will cause lawmakers and presidential candidates to pay attention to the national debt? Apparently, not $35 trillion. The debt has increased more than $29 trillion in less than 24 years – the result of spending increases, tax cuts, wars, recessions and the pandemic. This has happened under two Democratic and two Republican presidents and with both Democrats and Republicans controlling Congress. Most of the spending – Social Security, Medicare, interest – is on autopilot and not even debated in Congress. We can thank our ancestors for the prosperity we enjoy. They made sacrifices for themselves and also their families. They hoped their children would live better lives than they did, and they took steps to make that happen. Let’s follow their example, starting with paying for the government we have .We have not been doing that.”
If we want to continue to be the “Shining City on the Hill” that President Reagan spoke of, we need to control ourselves. If you keep borrowing, someone is going to have to pay the bill. Who will that be? Our Children? Grandchildren? GreatGrandchildren?
What is the strategy for all of our borrowing? That the world will end someday and we won’t have to pay?
Over two centuries ago, James Allen wrote in his diary, “If we fail, liberty no longer continues an inhabitant of this globe.” In any case, up until now, we succeeded. We cannot fail even still. Because freedom is this generation’s and all subsequent generations’ duty, it cannot be the possession of a single generation. We owe it to the future generations to preserve, grow, and transmit it unaltered.”
Take a look at your child or grandchild and ask yourself-do they deserve this?
Frank Spotorno was the republican candidate for Congress in 2016 in NY-14. He is the founder of Bring our Jobs Home, which advocates for American Corporations to return manufacturing jobs back to the USA. He lives in Yonkers, NY.
